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Teen pushes water awareness

Owen Sound Mayor Deb Haswell, left, and Robyn Hamlyn 13, of Kingston use glasses of water to toast to the concept of the Blue Community Project on the bank of the Sydenham River in Owen Sound on Thursday March 15, 2012. Hamlyn visited the mayor to try and convince her to make Owen Sound adopt a framework of water conservation initiatives to protect the valuable resource. --The Sun Times/James Masters/QMI Agency/

The 13-year-old Kingston girl is visiting communities over March Break in an effort to con-v ince municipal councils to declare their town or city a "blue community" -- one dedicated to protecting freshwater resources.

Her campaign is motivated by a concern that North America and the rest of the world will experience a "water crisis" by 2025, as explained in the 2008 documentary Blue Gold: World Water Wars.

"I do believe in the power of one and I do believe that if we band together, we can change that reality," Hamlyn said Thursday morning during a stop at city hall in Owen Sound.

The Blue Community Project is a joint initiative of the Council of Canadians and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

To qualify, a council must adopt a "water commons framework" that bans the sale of bottled water at public facilities and municipal events, recognizes water as a human right and promotes publicly financed, owned and operated water and waste water services.

Owen Sound Mayor Deb Haswell, who met with Hamlyn and her mother Joanne on Thursday, said she plans to introduce the framework and "blue community" proposal at a city council meeting on April 2. She said she is confident council will support it.

"We certainly recognize the importance of the Great Lakes and water quality," Haswell said.

Owen Sound already has a ban on the sale of bottled water at public facilities and events. The city's water treatment plant and sewage treatment plant are both publicly owned, although the treatment plant is operated by a private contractor.

Hamlyn said she was first inspired "to do something" to address the looming global water shortage after watching Blue Gold last June in her Grade 7 classroom.

She contacted the film's director, who put her in touch with Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow.

After asking how she could make a difference, Hamlyn said Barlow suggested she encourage her hometown council to become a "blue community."

Hamlyn met with Kingston Mayor Mark Gerretsen, who she said was very receptive to the idea.

On Sept. 20, Kingston declared itself a "blue community."

Hamlyn said after that success she made a promise to continue encouraging communities to adopt the water commons framework.

She wrote to 50 mayors and received a "fantastic" response.

She met with representatives in Chatham-Kent on Monday, Cambridge, Brantford and Norfolk Tuesday and Guelph and Newmarket Wednesday. She said she plans to visit many more municipalities this year and hopes to also speak with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"I want to make all communities in Ontario a blue community," she said.